Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

NDAQ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.88.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

Shares of NDAQ stock traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $76.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,248,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,758,593. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Nasdaq has a twelve month low of $58.10 and a twelve month high of $84.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a PE ratio of 39.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.96.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In related news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.56, for a total value of $285,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,576 shares in the company, valued at $4,532,778.56. The trade was a 5.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 80,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,185,000 after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,170,000 after acquiring an additional 23,244 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Nasdaq by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,454,000 after acquiring an additional 9,130 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter worth approximately $856,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.